Panda 2012+ 4x4 Twin Air coming soon

[Ironlung]

Hello the forum, we have just moved to a cottage up a track on a hillside in the Scottish borders at around 1600 feet, but the price we'll pay for seclusion, views, walks, no traffic to speak of, hills, sky, vistas, etc., is snow and likely lots of it.
Done the research and are now trading in both our Pandas against a new 4x4 TA which we get in a couple of weeks.
The test drive, while short, convinced me that this wee engine (smaller than my motorcycle BTW) encourages quite nippy zipping about, with an interesting sound as well - like it a lot.
The reviews and blogs all point to this being the best for us reaching civilisation at our price range (unless it's a no frills, uncomfy Jimny), but we'll be stocking up a big freezer for those days when nothing can move.

 

[nigelspanda]

because you are going to live up high and cold will you be getting the winter pack -also your going to like the TA 4x4 it reassures you with better grip feeling and the brakes feel better as well

 

[varesecrazy]

Hello the forum, we have just moved to a cottage up a track on a hillside in the Scottish borders at around 1600 feet, but the price we'll pay for seclusion, views, walks, no traffic to speak of, hills, sky, vistas, etc., is snow and likely lots of it.
Done the research and are now trading in both our Pandas against a new 4x4 TA which we get in a couple of weeks.
The test drive, while short, convinced me that this wee engine (smaller than my motorcycle BTW) encourages quite nippy zipping about, with an interesting sound as well - like it a lot.
The reviews and blogs all point to this being the best for us reaching civilisation at our price range (unless it's a no frills, uncomfy Jimny), but we'll be stocking up a big freezer for those days when nothing can move.

Doubly jealous..!!

Charlie

 

[Ironlung]

Just got the Panda 4x4 TA and love the mental wee turbo - it thrives on being floored and spirited zapping around the country roads - to hell with monitoring the fuel economy, I'm just going to enjoy the crazy motorcycle-like sound and surprising performance. I suppose it's all relative, as my previous car was a Panda My Life, so I'm loving the extra zip of the TA. Might be a bit different if I'd been used to a performance car though, but I'm loving it and so does my wife. The extra 8 BHP doesn't sound like a lot, but it's more than just a mere 10% (ish) power increase, it's a whole different level of performance, due to the turbo I guess? I would recommend this unreservedly for country dwellers. Haven't tried it in the city yet but I suspect the extremely low first gear might be a tad awkward. I'm finding that if there is the slightest forward momentum then moving on in second is best, but have yet to try that from standstill - what do you reckon?
BTW, potholes, what potholes?

 

[nigelspanda]

I have gotten use to going from 1st to 2nd gear ,I have tried starting off in 2nd gear but I don't want to strain the cluch ,when turning around corners sometimes 3rd gear is Ok and you can go along at 30mph in 5th and 35 in 6th gears

 

[Ironlung]

I'm completely ignoring the helpful dashboard advice to change up, as it seems you would never reach the 3 to 4K sweet spot. If you keep it buzzing along it is fairly impressive, bur 35 in sixth just seems silly to me, unless you particularly enjoy engine judder. :bang:

 

[babbo_umbro]

I have gotten use to going from 1st to 2nd gear ,I have tried starting off in 2nd gear but I don't want to strain the cluch ,when turning around corners sometimes 3rd gear is Ok and you can go along at 30mph in 5th and 35 in 6th gears

I'd agree with that, though, if you're caught in a stream of traffic doing a steady 35 mph with no major gradient or opportunity to accelerate, I reckon the 4x4 TA's quite happy - and smooth - in sixth, though you'd need to drop a gear or two to pick up speed promptly.

 

[greenfintry]

Forget the need for a big freezer..... The mighty panda will always get through.... Sails past stck range rovers in deep snow..! Just a shame the 4x4 logo gives the game away.,

 

[Ironlung]

"The mighty panda will always get through.... Sails past stuck range rovers in deep snow..!"

I've heard similar elsewhere, but it seems so unlikely given the huge ground clearance of a true off roader - I guess I'll find out soon enough !!

 

[asxetos]

Lower overall weight does the trick in such situations because the lighter vehicle does not sink as much.

Ground clearance is good to have, but low weight is even better as less traction is required to move or steer.

 

[deeyup]

The other thing with Range Rovers and the like is they are usually wearing low profile 20" sports tyres. Totally unsuitable for the conditions

 

[Moultoneer]

I'd agree with that, though, if you're caught in a stream of traffic doing a steady 35 mph with no major gradient or opportunity to accelerate, I reckon the 4x4 TA's quite happy - and smooth - in sixth, though you'd need to drop a gear or two to pick up speed promptly.

I'd say exactly the same for the Trekking TA, but subtract a gear in each
case to allow for its 5-speed box

I quite like the vibrations around peak torque, but mechanical sympathy
demands a downchange if acceleration is needed

It is good to have such a wide usable rev. range :devil:



Chris

 

[triumph7]

The other thing with Range Rovers and the like is they are usually wearing low profile 20" sports tyres. Totally unsuitable for the conditions

I was just about to make that point! Lol

 

[babbo_umbro]

I'd say exactly the same for the Trekking TA, but subtract a gear in each
case to allow for its 5-speed box

I quite like the vibrations around peak torque, but mechanical sympathy
demands a downchange if acceleration is needed

It is good to have such a wide usable rev. range :devil:



Chris

I'd forgotten (or never knew) that the Trekking "only" has five gears - that's a big difference. Are top and bottom the same ratios - or near enough - as the 4x4? On the 4x4 second to third and fourth to fifth are like quite big gaps, masked by that torque curve, but five speeds further apart would be a disadvantage.

 

[babbo_umbro]

By the way, it's not just the frozen north. On the north slopes of Dartmoor the sun doesn't shine on the surface of our (unadopted) road for about six weeks in mid-winter so any ice and snow just hang about. When that happened it was impossible to get the 100HP up our relatively modestly sloping drive, so trying to get along the road would have been suicidal. Good news - Mrs b-u's Panda MJ got out of the drive with no problems, because of the weight of the diesel engine and its narrower tyres; bad news - two christmases ago she wanted to go to the university in Exeter for a a celebratory lunch on her very last day at work, she got to the end of the road, turned onto the road down from the moor, was on snow on top of ice, became a passenger and wrote her Panda off against a telegraph pole - no personal damage but end of much-liked MJ. I'm hoping the 4x4 will put an end to that - and enable me to look as smug as those b-----ds in their Range Rovers who are a pain in the arse for the rest of the year and hate the fact that they only get 12 mpg, but can feel justified when it snows.

 

[deeyup]

I'd forgotten (or never knew) that the Trekking "only" has five gears - that's a big difference. Are top and bottom the same ratios - or near enough - as the 4x4? On the 4x4 second to third and fourth to fifth are like quite big gaps, masked by that torque curve, but five speeds further apart would be a disadvantage.

From what I remember we thought that the trekking was the same as the regular 2wd panda. 28mph max speed in 1st against 21mph in the 4x4 TA.
And top gear was a little higher in the trekking too.
It's somewhere in the 4x4 thread.

 

[babbo_umbro]

From what I remember we thought that the trekking was the same as the regular 2wd panda. 28mph max speed in 1st against 21mph in the 4x4 TA.
And top gear was a little higher in the trekking too.
It's somewhere in the 4x4 thread.

Which means that one of the 4x4 TA's weaknesses - a lack of engine braking down steep stuff in first - would be more pronounced in the Trekking presumably.

 

[deeyup]

I don't think engine braking would be high on the priority list for any potential trekking owners though?

 

[Moultoneer]

I don't think engine braking would be high on the priority list for any potential trekking owners though?

Topically, I could have done with a bit more when negociating a rough,
steep rutted car park on the Quantock hills today, and also descending
the road down to the A39. As has been mentioned elsewhere, one snag
of Fiat's otherwise clever multiair system is that as the inlet isn't
throttled, the engine braking is less than with a normal engine

For the same reason, all such engines have a mechanical vacuum pump
(like on a diesel) to produce suction for the brake servo.

On the road, I find the Trekking TA's gear ratios just about spot-on



Chris